Sales via PM - is it fair Poll

[Frunkstar]

Seems I have opened a real can of worms with this poll in more ways that one, all I can say it my intentions were good on both fronts, though it seems not everyone feel's the same.

Please bear in mind the poll was a what if just to gauge others thought on the subject & it's really interesting & an eye opener to see the valid points raised about the PM side of things.

 

[Snaketibe]

Personally I think a buyer should have the right to privacy and a seller should have the right to sell it to whoever he wants regardless of who was first to post or send a PM. Just my opinion on it.

Furthermore I think there are other things to consider over who was first in line. If you know someone is easy to deal with or a friend then why shouldn't you give them preference. Also I've had PMs from buyers before saying they'll take something but then disappeared for days on end without response or tried to haggle on price or shipping. Whereas someone after that might say" I'll take it at the asking price, send me your paypal and I'll send you the money now".

I agree with this too. It seems perfectly reasonable and sensible.

 

[momike]

No way am i having Frank was underhand in anyway....sounds like sour grapes to me

Ive got to say i prefer the PM method, if its not broke don't fix it, i am really slow of the mark when it comes to sales on here, if you snooze you loose though :lol: its always a bit disheartening when you get beaten for a piece especially one you really want, same with ebay, i just tell myself it was not meant to be and move on

I do however think if someone has a WTB thread for an item and that item is offered for sale that that person should get first refusal (i know a lot of people don't bother reading them though) or be able back door a sale providing the WTB thread was posted before the FS thread, i think that's fair otherwise whats the point of the WTB section :roll: I mean if i had something for sale and i had sold to the first pm and then received a pm saying they had been after one for a while and had a WTB thread and presuming the member was an active one i would deffo have no problem pulling out of the sale and would like to think the original buyer would be cool with that also......sorry Frank went a bit of topic :lol:

 

[Frunkstar]

I just dug out that old for sales thread regarding this Harbert cardback thats in question, totally off topic for the poll, but feel it only right to post the link in here seen as my good name & sales ethics are in question -

http://www.starwarsforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22286&hilit=harbert+cardback&start=15

Seem's my memory is working fine :?

EDIT: - I have also sent a PM to the member who sold me the cardback to see if he can shed a little light on this train wreck situation as I have nothing to hide.

 

[Palifan]

It's a tricky one for sure with selling items as I'm sure more often than not someone's upset they didn't get it. For me I tend to PM the seller first to make sure it's in their in box and then put PM sent with the item of interest to me listed in the thread. This way people know I've sent a PM about a certain item and I did't hang about with contacting the seller knowing how some items disappear very quickly.

I always get a little upset by people buying things to flip straight away on here as I feel it's taking it out of a collectors hands at a more reasonable price and may even stop that collector from being able to afford it. I know some sellers don't mind about this as they're happy with the price the item was listed at but I would prefer that something was put up for sale for at least 24 hours to collectors first and then if there's no interest it's up for everyone else who may want to just buy it and take the gamble of moving it on elsewhere. I think this is what I would do if I sold anything I felt should be in a collectors hands first although it's still down to the forum member being honest when buying it.

As for the privacy comment I can totally see why people might not want to let others know what they're spending their money on although it can be a little frustrating to see items disappear with no real knowledge as to what happened to them. People have very different views when it comes to letting people know what they have in their collection and it's always going to be tricky to please all but maybe a little more common sense with regards to mentioning what you've sent a PM about in the sales thread might help out a bit and hopefully this thread will bring up some good points.

Ian

 

[wrighty]

You have a great memory Frank!!

I just dug out that old for sales thread regarding this Harbert cardback thats in question, totally off topic for the poll, but feel it only right to post the link in here seen as my good name & sales ethics are in question -

http://www.starwarsforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22286&hilit=harbert+cardback&start=15

Seem's my memory is working fine :?

EDIT: - I have also sent a PM to the member who sold me the cardback to see if he can shed a little light on this train wreck situation as I have nothing to hide.

 

[Palifan]

Think I got the wrong end of the stick with my last post as I thought this thread was about selling things on the sales thread :lol:

So in short everything I mentioned before stands for the sales thread and as for sending PM's when someone is asking for a valuation I don't really feel this is fair as at that point it should just be about the valuation and once the member has enough info they should then let everyone know that they're putting things up on the sales thread should they want to go that route. I can see there's a whole grey area with this if a long term member gets in touch about something they've been after for a long time but I'm not really sure I'm that happy about this happening with someone who's just joined and knows nobody on here.

The end of the day there are so many new members who get advise and then stick everything on eBay so it probably doesn't matter what we do :lol:

Ian

 

[Section 8]

As with most things in life there is a morality behind what you do. You can be a fair seller or an unfair seller.

I thought the rule of sale was 1st come 1st served, whether pm or message on the sales page. I certainly stick to this rule no matter who it is. This method does however rely on the morals of the seller to stick to it. Luckily this forum is blessed with many honest people who, as far as I'm aware, honour this rule whether old or new member buying. I'd hate to think I'd been 1st in line only to be overlooked for someone else.

Once contact and a winner has been made, all wheeling and dealing has to be done in private. It is once again the seller responsibility to keep their sales page up to date as many "PM SENT ON X" don't always result in a sale.

There can only be guidelines on how to sell. If a seller breaks them then he is being unfair and dishonest to the forum and knows deep down he's being a twat. That unfortunately is the only punishment for such a twat.

If strict rules are made, then they will be broken and much bickering will ensue.



"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." MKG

 

[Palifan]

Hi All

Not sure if I have ever done a poll before, but first time for everything.

Right I have been mulling this subject over for years rather than weeks or months as I personally hate the PM'd sales & ease of being able to back door due to it, so should IYO all sales be conducted on a persons for sales post rather than via PM??

My reasoning -

A for sales thread pop's & inevitable many folk want to buy the items listed for sale, but it can he a hard sell sometimes with many folks wanting the same item(s) that are on offer.

If any interest in a said item were asked for directly on the for sales thread EVERYONE can see whats going on & what is available (assuming the seller keeps the post up to date).

Often one replies to a thread with your intent of a purchase (always the way I have done things as its polite IMO) & in the mean time a PM has been sent & the item is sold already, just by one taking the time to IMO do the right thing.

Keeping all sales on the for sales post would also IMO stop back door sales to higher offers & sales for favoritism.

Or should we just stick with what we know & has been the way since the forum started?

Just to clarify Frank, are we talking about people PM ing sellers in the sales thread or people Pm ing people who are asking for a valuation of their item? It seems like two different things to me and I just want to make sure I'm on the same page as everyone.

One slightly confused Ian! :lol:

 

[robpmarsh]

Hi all,

As the previous owner of the PD Harbert CB I'm not sure why this is being dragged up tbh.

As i was new to the forum (and collecting cardbacks at the time) i posted the PD and cardback in the LA thread mentioning i got the cardback as a free bonus when the package arrived. I remember another member commenting about frank having a focus on PD but I'm not 100% certain that i put the item in the valuation thread or if i got some pm's regarding selling it.

What i do remember is one member contacting me 1st and then frank contacting me. Then the 1st member graciously stood down so frank could aquire the cardback from me for the mentioned diecast ships.

I think this act even got a mention on the following podcast.

Hope this in some way clears up the situation.

 

[mr_palitoy]

I just dug out that old for sales thread regarding this Harbert cardback thats in question, totally off topic for the poll, but feel it only right to post the link in here seen as my good name & sales ethics are in question -

http://www.starwarsforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22286&hilit=harbert+cardback&start=15

Seem's my memory is working fine :?

EDIT: - I have also sent a PM to the member who sold me the cardback to see if he can shed a little light on this train wreck situation as I have nothing to hide.

My incoming messages from April last year have gone, but. I still have this reply I sent to where you PM'd me about the value of the cardback. Was Meccano rather than harbert. Your message gave me the impression that the deal I gave up to you had fallen through. You never replied further after I asked you what happened.

===============================================

Re: Meccano Power Droid Cardback any value??
Sent: Mon Apr 06, 2015 9:09 am
From: mr_palitoy
Recipient: Frunkstar

Subject: Meccano Power Droid Cardback any value??

Frunkstar wrote:
Old thread I know, but was just looking for another power droid related thread & stumbled back on this one, yeah I can confirm I got truly ****ed on this one, but wanted to say a huge thanks for all the support I got from everyone wanting it to come my way, you guys are the best!


What happened frank? I gave this up to you and didn't realise it had gone south!

Jason

 

[Richard_H]

Jason - are you sure you're on about the right cardback? The PM says Meccano and I'm pretty sure Frank knows the difference. There is some confusion here.


With regards to sales. I do most of my sales through pm. I think typing pm sent in comments is annoying as hell. Pm sent on X is far better, although I probably still wouldn't do it. To me, an item isn't gone until sake has been agreed. Seller then notifies as sold. The first guy to pm, then dicks about with free postage etc (which seems to happen to me with everything I've sold) shouldn't get the item if the second guy agrees terms.

 

[Mr-shifter]

This is all pretty irrelevant as its really down to the seller as to how he/she sells her item. What's morally right and morally wrong are up to the individual, but at the end of the day it's up to them how they wish to be perceived by the greater community. People get big pats on the back for buying and selling through vectis but all they are doing is ripping 40% out of every sale. Is that the best for the community? It was certainly the best for the seller the other day financially.

I have lost out on items because sellers have preferred to sell to other people for various reasons. I'm not bitter as its none of my business. I have also been first in line for things I have wanted and been given **** for it as other people wanted them. This has happened a couple of times. Cest la vie. I do agree with oli though, what I'm paying for stuff and on what terms is no ones business but me and the other party.

There's plenty of stuff out there to get. Sometimes in life people get so hung up on what they don't have they miss seeing what they do have.

 

[maxf]

PM all the way -

As a buyer, you should be able to buy with a degree of privacy, especially on higher end items.

As a seller you should be able to choose who to deal with - friends or people you've sold to before might take priority over the first person to type 'pm sent'.

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

Not sure why this even needed raising. The system works well. I trust sellers here to do the right thing. I'll be buggered if I'm conducting my business in public. Some purchases and details I'm happy to share, others I'm not. I hate the having to write "PM sent for...." on some FB groups.

Like Ben says, ethics is down to the buyer and seller and most people here are adults and great to deal with. I treat others as I expect to be treated myself.

Finally, I love this forum for its lack of rules. Want rules? Go join a FB group

 

[mr_palitoy]

Jason - are you sure you're on about the right cardback? The PM says Meccano and I'm pretty sure Frank knows the difference. There is some confusion here.


With regards to sales. I do most of my sales through pm. I think typing pm sent in comments is annoying as hell. Pm sent on X is far better, although I probably still wouldn't do it. To me, an item isn't gone until sake has been agreed. Seller then notifies as sold. The first guy to pm, then dicks about with free postage etc (which seems to happen to me with everything I've sold) shouldn't get the item if the second guy agrees terms.

Only have this one message from our conversation thread, the others were auto deleted.

Jason

 

[SublevelStudios]

If it ain't broke, dont fix it.

 

[poncho]

Ive sold a few bits on here and i normally go off who declares interest first! be it a comment or pm. Though i prefer comments as i check my sales threads more regularly than pms

 

[jedisearcher]

Jason - are you sure you're on about the right cardback? The PM says Meccano and I'm pretty sure Frank knows the difference. There is some confusion here.


With regards to sales. I do most of my sales through pm. I think typing pm sent in comments is annoying as hell. Pm sent on X is far better, although I probably still wouldn't do it. To me, an item isn't gone until sake has been agreed. Seller then notifies as sold. The first guy to pm, then dicks about with free postage etc (which seems to happen to me with everything I've sold) shouldn't get the item if the second guy agrees terms.

Only have this one message from our conversation thread, the others were auto deleted.

Jason

So you're going to slag off someone's good reputation based on a PM for a different item and a secondhand story after a few beers?

Unbelievable.

 

[edd_jedi]

Sounds like the Frank/Jason thing is a mix up so please don't fall out over it in public, discuss via PM if you need to.

Personally I don't think posting in the thread first means you were first in line - what if somebody pm'd before you made the post? As others have said I trust people to do the right thing and sell it to whoever asked first via whatever method they are comfortable with. I agree that people have the right to privacy, especially on high end items.